‘Winning Time’ Producers Kevin Messick and Salli Richardson-Whitfield Tease ‘Great Matchups’ for Season 2 (Exclusive)

Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is a big hit for HBO as the first season took an unfiltered look at how the Los Angeles Lakers became a powerhouse in the 1980s. And with Season 2 about to premiere, fans will be treated to some memorable battles that shaped today’s NBA. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Winning Time executive producers Kevin Messick and Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and they explained what fans will see from the second season of the basketball series. 

“I think some pretty great rivalry and matchups,” Messick exclusively told PopCulture. “From the Lakers to the Celtics, to Magic [Johnson] and [Larry] Bird, to [Jerry] Buss to [Red] Auerbach with the coaching drama between [Paul] Westhead and [Pat] Riley. There’s hopefully a lot of character drama along with the game time drama that with Salli’s guidance, I think we’ve recreated pretty meticulously depending on how much you’ve seen of season two. I mean, we recreate that ’84 Finals, I think, in a pretty exciting way.”

Not only is Richardson-Whitfield an executive producer, but she also directed the season premiere, the penultimate episode and the season finale. When talking about the episodes she directed, Richardson-Whitfield said, “I really think that these are some iconic games, and we were very meticulous in trying to recreate what people have seen on YouTube or in documentary kind of footage. But then we sort of add to it and give you the drama inside of the game. What is that narrative? What are those looks? What is that drama between the coach and the players in the huddle? That’s the stuff that you’ve never seen before, and I think that that’s what our fans are looking for.”

With Season 2 focusing on Johnson and Bird, there will be some focus on the latter since he played a big role in the Lakers dynasty despite never playing for the team. Sean Patrick Small plays Bird, and Messick said everyone has been impressed with how he has portrayed the basketball legend over the last two seasons. 

“He really channels the spirit of Larry. And depending on how much you’ve seen of season two, we go deeper into his backstory,” Messick said. “And I think in Season 1 we kind of presented him as the rival and the villain to Magic. But in this season, I think that Sean got to explore it as an actor, is really go into the beginnings, which were somewhat tragic in terms of how he started out his basketball career. And then to see them match up in terms of Larry and Magic by the end was amazing.”

Richardson-Whitfield has also been impressed with Small, but she also gave praise to Quincy Isaiah, who plays Johnson, and Solomon Hughes, who plays Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. “It’s been honestly amazing the second season to see the growth of some of our actors like Quincy, who plays Magic, and Sean, who plays Larry Bird and Solomon, who plays Kareem,” she said. “These guys hadn’t done a lot of work up to this point, and they have just grown so much and embody these characters like they were born to play them. So it’s just been a wonderful journey for all of them to grow as actors this season and incredible work. In particular, Quincy has done an amazing job as Magic and goes on a real journey this second season.”

Winning Time Season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on Sunday, Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. New episodes air every Sunday, and the season features seven episodes.